Have you ever watched a cat stretching? You can practically see the relaxation ooze out of every part of their bodies. There is a looseness about them which is enviable. But then, they don’t have to worry about clothes moving around or exposing various body parts. Their fur is neatly attached to their skin.

When we stretch in everyday life, chances are that the enjoyment comes to an abrupt end as soon as our top creeps up our torso or the trousers start to cut painfully into the belly region. That basically means that wearing clothes that restrict us in our range of movement due to cut, fabric or design bars us from the relaxing outcome of stretching cat-style.

What to do? What we are looking for is a second skin just our size that moves with us and doesn’t hold us back. And that’s were stretch clothes come in. They allow our bodies – like a cat’s – to extend fully, to twist, turn, elongate and open.

We are already facing so many restrictions to our movement on an average day in the office, on public transport, carrying shopping bags and last but not least the rules our society lives by, we don’t need to make it worse by choosing clothes that cage us in. But even when wearing stretch couture, your body is building up tension, muscles shorten and the breath becomes restricted.

To become a cat and stretch to balance our body out again, yoga classes are a good place to start. Stretching our outer body creates space without and within. The combination of movements and breath can help us to let go of restrictions. In our practice, we can try to concentrate on the thought of letting go of all restrictions allowing broadness and space in. Enjoy the freedom of movement.